How Vacations Change When the Children Come

Children are a joy to have and they always make almost all things bubbly. If you love to travel and have young children, you should consider bringing them along. While having your children tag along is always a welcome treat, expect a completely different trip from the one you are used to.

There are a lot of things that change when you start vacationing with your children. You have to account for all the drama they will bring and accommodate how they like to have fun. Here are some ways your vacations will change when you do decide to bring your children along.

Anticipate Some Flight Drama

One of the reasons why new parents don’t like traveling with their kids is because they hate the idea of being the parent in the cabin who has to calm down a crying child. Kids can be very dramatic. If you don’t keep them entertained during your flight, you shouldn’t be surprised if they throw tantrums.

This is not something to be embarrassed about as every parent on your flight who has ever traveled with a baby will totally relate to your situation. Don’t panic. Find a way to calm down your baby and keep them entertained.

Extra Luggage with Very Specific Things

You will have to carry very specific things and gadgets to make sure your child is comfortable during your vacation. For instance, small children usually have trouble adapting to new sleeping environments. To make them get familiar with the new environment quickly, you will have to bring some things from home that they are used to such as their favorite stuffed animals, toys and pillows.

Children's needs are entirely different from those of adults. Making your kid comfortable will probably be your number one task if you want them to not ruin your trip.

Kid Friendly Excursions

You will have to account for how children like to have fun if you are going to have a successful trip. While you might be okay with going to a museum and just browsing through art, your kid will be bored stiff with such activities.

Kids love to experience stuff by using their senses - touch, taste, and smell. A passive activity such as browsing art will be a total bore to a young child. For this reason, you will need to design your itinerary to allow for opportunities where your child can actually have fun the way a child should.

You Can’t Set a Fixed Schedule

When you are traveling with a small child, elaborate plans aren’t a good idea. You should go with as minimalist a plan as you can put together. The more flexible your plan is, the easier it will be to account for the several kiddy things that will arise during your trip.

Having an inflexible schedule is actually never a good idea even if you are traveling without a child. A fixed schedule robs you of the opportunity to change your itinerary to do interesting things that grab your attention.

Family Resorts Become the Best Option

You will quickly realize that there are several needs of a vacationing family that a regular hotel cannot meet. If you have the option of staying at a hotel or staying at a family resort, you should always go for the kid-friendly resort even if they will set you back a few bucks.

The experience will be miles better than staying at a regular hotel. What’s more? You will be around other people traveling with their families. Your child can make friends with other kids and have great playmates whenever you are at the resort.

Active Adventures Become Limited

You can go to any kind of beach vacation you want when you are traveling with children. What you can’t do is go on an active adventure that may result in an injury of any family member.

If you want to go on adventurous experiences such as mountain trekking or rock climbing, you can’t bring your kids along. This does not mean that your opportunities to have fun will be limited. There are a lot of things at most family-friendly travel destinations any family can do and enjoy.

Naps at Airport Lounges Are a Thing of the Past

If you usually enjoy taking naps at airport lounges, count this as one of the things you will have to give up because of parenthood. You can’t take a nap at an airport if you are traveling with a small baby, especially if you are the only person traveling with the baby.

It’s okay to take a nap, though, if there is another family member around to watch the baby. Even then, a playful baby will probably demand your attention and wake you up to play with them.

Make the Proper Adjustments

Just because you have kids - doesn’t mean you have to say goodbye to adults-only vacations and girls trips. You just have to travel a little differently when you’re bringing your kids along. After all, your kids require a lot of attention - so be cautious of your surroundings. This doesn’t mean you can’t have a great time - just keep these tips in mind to keep your worrying to a minimum.

Please note: This and other Daily Mom articles may include sponsored advertisements, reviewed products and services, affiliate links and other forms of sponsorship. All opinions expressed are of the author, regardless of the nature of the article. To find out more information, please read our privacy policy

FAMILY

Daily Mom is a parent portal for women who are looking for information and education. It's a combination of your favorite blogs, Pinterest boards, parenting websites, how-to posts, product features and the best fashion magazines all packaged neatly into short easy to read posts with gorgeous photographs.